asked the Minister for Social Welfare the average weekly number on the unemployment register for the first two months of this year; if based on these figures the provision in the Estimates for his Department for 1988 is adequate; and the increase in numbers this represents compared with last year.
Written Answers. - Unemployment Figures.
167.
The number on the live register for the last week in January 1988 as supplied to my Department by the Central Statistics Office is 252,241. The figure for February is not yet available. The corresponding figure for end-January 1987 was 254,526. The current figure therefore represents a drop of 2,285 on last year. I am satisfied that the provision in my Department's Estimate for unemployment services in 1988 is adequate.